Fall 2018 First Year Seminar

Choose a course to view details about it and to find out who the professor will be!

Please note that some FSEMs will be removed from the PDA-Personal Data Advising Form-as they become filled.

FSEM 100-01 (CRN 4618) Energy and the Environment

One of the most important challenges facing the world in the twenty-first century is to identify and develop sustainable sources of energy in order to maintain a reasonable standard of living while also minimizing our impact on the environment. This seminar will discuss the science of energy production and usage for a variety of energy sources and energy conservation strategies, and also examine the environmental advantages and drawbacks of each source or strategy. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the nuclear disaster in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 illustrate just some of the dangers underlying our current energy production portfolio. The science regarding the challenge of global climate change will also be discussed. While the seminar is discussion based and writing intensive, students will be introduced to the basic physical principles and skills necessary to understand the issues involved in energy systems and sustainability, including physical units conversion and problem-solving techniques. The course will also include course blog postings and discussion of topics of current interest regarding energy and environmental issues found in the popular press.

Your Professor

Kevin Riggs holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Minnesota and specializes in research on magnetic materials useful for magnetic recording and information storage. He also holds an M.S. in Physics/Musical-acoustics from Case Western Reserve University and has an active research program using laser-based holographic techniques to image the vibration patterns of musical instruments. He teaches many advanced courses for physics majors, but especially enjoys interacting with students from a wide range of backgrounds in his general education course on musical acoustics titled "The Science of Music" and his new first-year seminar titled "Energy and the Environment." In his spare time, Riggs enjoys playing guitar in a Stetson University faculty jazz quartet, the "Thin Film Magnetism."

FSEM 100-02 (CRN 4619) Writing for the Health of It

Is writing good for your health? Many writers describe their creative process as a sort of spiritual practice from which they gain insight. And many of us have experienced the way we can write our way to answers in our lives and discover our inner wisdom. Numerous fictional works explore illness- are writers drawing from their related experiences and instinctively moving toward wellness when they write? Is it that same impulse that drives others to keep journals and diaries or turn their troubles into poems? Scientific studies on the impact of writing on health- both emotional and physical- show remarkable results, supporting what those who love to read and write have known all along: the written word is powerful medicine. Where do writing, spirituality and wellness meet? This course explores that intersection through a variety of texts, discussion and written responses. In addition, students will learn the sort of writing that has been found to be healing and have the opportunity to experience its potential through journaling and creative writing. This course includes a service-learning component, in which students will be assigned to work with an elderly citizen.

Your Professor

Gail Radley received her B.A. in independent studies with an emphasis in creative writing from Mary Baldwin College and her M.A. in English from Stetson. Besides journaling and dabbling in poetry, she is the author of 24 books for children as well as articles and short stories for adults. One of these, "Writing With the Ink of Light on the Tablet of the Spirit," a paper Radley presented at the annual Writing and Wellness Conference, was published in Writing and Wellness Connections (Evans: Idyll Arbor, 2010). Radley has been teaching in the English Department since 1993 and began teaching Writing for the Health of It when the FSEM program began at Stetson.

What does the term "individual" mean apart from "the community"? What does "community" mean apart from the concept of "the individual"? This seminar will explore the relationship between these two concepts with a view to understanding how the community shapes the individual and how the individual can, and should, shape the community. We will think about issues pertaining to social justice and ask what responsibility the individual has for her or his own formation and what responsibility the individual has for the formation and well-being of the community. Service learning in the community is central to this exploration.

Your Professor

After earning his B.A. from Stetson University, Greg Sapp went on to earn an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and the Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology from the University of Virginia. He is particularly interested in the formation of Christian thought and doctrine. He has published articles and presented papers in the fields of doctrinal development, historical philosophy and theology, and religion and culture. His latest work is in the area of sports and religion. He returned to Stetson in 2006 and holds the Hal S. Marchman Chair of Civic and Social Responsibility. He comes to us most recently from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where he was awarded the 2005 Spencer B. King Distinguished Faculty Award. He has taught first-year seminars for 12 years now.

FSEM 100-14 (CRN 4631) Food and Humans: The Past, the Present and the Future.

This course will explore how humans have changed food through the ages, and, in turn, how food has changed humans. After air and water, food is the most important need for humans, and scientists, sociologists, and archaeologists, among others, have been very interested in tracing the origin of food. Topics will include the invention of farming, how food created social structure, how the industrialization of nations affected food production, and the use of food in war. Modernist cuisine, also known as molecular gastronomy, will be an additional topic for investigation.

Your Professor

Ramee Indralingam started teaching at Stetson University after she received a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Florida. She teaches general chemistry, analytical chemistry and instrumental analysis. She has also taught forensic chemistry in the Honors Program at Stetson. She is interested in determining the volatile and medicinal components of herbs and spices, as well as developing new and innovative lab experiments for the curriculum. A recent success was in developing a technique to determine the amount of iron in the yolk of an egg. She carries out her research with the collaboration of chemistry and biochemistry majors.

FSEM 100-16 (CRN 4633) The West in Question

It is impossible to read a newspaper, surf the Internet, or watch the nightly news without hearing how "western values" are under assault. Chinese economic might, Islamic terrorism, Russian imperialism-the so-called "West" faces numerous challenges. Such challenges are hardly new, of course. From the Thirty Years War and The French Revolution to the Holocaust and the Cold War, "Westerners" have debated, fought, and even killed each other in the name of "freedom", "equality", "nation", "democracy," and "Judeo-Christian" values. By analyzing major questions in Modern European History, this First Year Seminar will inquire whether "The West" possesses a coherent set of values and whether those values continue to have relevance at the outset of the twenty-first century. This course includes a weekly success lab.

Your Professor

Eric Kurlander, Professor of Modern European History, studied at Bowdoin College (BA) and Harvard University (MA, Ph.D.) before coming to Stetson in 2001. His most recent book (co-edited with Joanne Miyang Cho and Douglas McGetchin), Transcultural Encounters between Germany and India: Kindred Spirits in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Routledge, 2013), looks at the history of German-Indian relations in the spheres of culture, politics, and intellectual life. His last book, Living With Hitler: Liberal Democrats in the Third Reich (Yale University Press, 2009), examines the ways in which German liberals negotiated, resisted, and in some ways accommodated the Third Reich. His first book, The Price of Exclusion: Ethnicity, National Identity, and the Decline of German Liberalism, 1898-1933, appeared in 2006. He has published articles in leading journals, including Central European History, German History and The Journal of Contemporary History, and held research and writing fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; the German Historical Institute; the German Academic Exchange Service; the Krupp Foundation; and Harvard University's Program for the Study of Germany and Europe. His current projects include a textbook, The West in Question: Continuity and Change (Pearson-Longman, 2014), an edited volume (with Monica Black), The Nazi Soul Between Science and Religion: Revisiting the Occult Roots and Legacies of Nazism. (Camden House, 2015) and a monograph, Hitler's Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich (Yale, 2016). In his free time, Kurlander enjoys parenting, reading, travel, sports and popular culture.

FSEM 100-17 (CRN 4634) The Voice of the People

In this course, we will examine the role of citizens in political decision-making. Our main goal is to explore whether or not average citizens have the capacity to understand complex political and economic issues and convey meaningful preferences to political leaders. We will explore readings on the topic of citizen input ranging from classics of political philosophy to contemporary cutting-edge research on the nature of public opinion. Participants in this course will participate in the development and implementation of a Deliberative Poll, which is an alternative polling technique that involves bringing citizens together to discuss issues important to the local community.

Your Professor

David Hill received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stetson and his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Florida. He teaches courses in the areas of American politics, political parties and representation, campaigns and elections, and research methodology. His research focus is on political behavior with a specific interest in the interaction between institutions and political participation. He has published articles in several professional political science journals and is also the author of American Voter Turnout: An Institutional Perspective (Westview Press), a text exploring the impact of governmental and electoral institutional arrangements on turnout in American elections.

FSEM 100-21 (CRN 4638) American Freedom in Action

Free speech, freedom of religion, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, due process of law- commonly recognized terms, but what do they mean in practice? Using public schools as our backdrop, we will examine American freedom by reading and discussing exciting legal cases with a primary focus on U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Can students protest? Pray? Advocate illegal behavior? Be strip-searched? Can a school post the Ten Commandments? Censor student publications? Teach intelligent design alongside evolution? Compel students to accept diversity? Ban the expression of uncomfortable ideas?

We also consider the inevitable conflict between the twin pillars of the American experience: freedom and democracy. When individual freedoms clash with the desires of the majority, how are we to referee the disagreement? Should the majority always rule? Are there instances where one's individual rights are so important that it does not matter what the majority believe? Where do we draw the line between individual liberties and majority rule? Anyone who is considering a career in law, education, religion, politics- or who is passionate about liberty- will enjoy this hands-on study of America's experience in defining individual freedom while preserving democratic order.

Your Professor

Glen Epley has been a sportswriter, high school history teacher, professor at three universities, deputy superintendent of a 55,000 student school district and a senior executive for the world's 8th largest insurance brokerage. He is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Teacher Education at Stetson where he teaches graduate courses in school law and school finance. He has published his research on separation of church and state, due process in student discipline, censorship in schools, legal issues of child abuse, teachers and tort liability, in loco parentis, educational malpractice and the constitutional rights of parents. He earned his Ph.D. from Duke University.

The course includes an examination of American history in terms of the environmental features of often-familiar events. The great achievements of American civilization have included, in effect, a grand experiment on the landscape, with a whole range of results for good and ill. After learning how we have developed toward our present relationship with the environment, students will then learn inventive suggestions about next steps and do guided research for putting forth their own proposals. In short, this class grapples with The Three Whats: what has happened (in the human relationship with the environment); so what (why should we care?); and now what (what's the next step?).

Your Professor

Paul Croce, Ph.D., has been interested in nature since he was a child; as a little kid, he loved animals, wanted to learn about them and got upset at the rising number of extinctions. As an adult, he has become concerned not only about the current fate of the natural world, but also about the way people with different ideologies talk right past each other rather than find solutions on what to do. As a researcher, he has written on the impact of science and religion on our views of nature, and on ways to conciliate cultural and political differences (especially as these ideas show up in the work of American psychologist William James). As a professor in the interdisciplinary field of American Studies, he is committed to hearing out different values and enlisting different disciplines for finding paths to environmental health. No matter each student's field of interest, he is committed to fostering environmental awareness-a value in itself, a big plus to countless individual career goals.

FSEM 100-26 (CRN 4967) Medicines, Drugs and Toxins

In modern society, individuals are bombarded with information about chemical compounds and their impact on human health and well-being. This information about compounds such as pharmaceuticals, drugs, environmental toxins, and nutritional supplements, is often difficult for people to interpret or understand. Sometimes, the scientific basis of such information is wrong or even purposefully misleading. In this course, students will explore the impact of selected chemical compounds on human health. Discussions will focus on the use of both man-made and natural compounds, investigating both their beneficial and harmful effects on individuals and society. Students will also explore how various classes of chemical compounds are viewed by people in our society and how these views are affected by social, political, and economic factors. Some topics to be discussed include Drugs and Medicines; Poisons and Toxins; Foods and Nutrients; DNA and Genetic Testing/Modification.

Your Professor

John York received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and worked for the DuPont chemical company in New Jersey. After realizing that teaching was his true calling in life, he obtained a degree in Secondary Science Education from the University of Wyoming, followed by a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. York teaches a variety of chemistry classes at Stetson, ranging from introductory General Chemistry to advanced classes like Biological Inorganic Chemistry. He is very interested in research involving the chemistry of metals in biological systems and in industrial processes, and actively recruits undergraduate students to participate in this research. In addition, York is always working to develop new and better ways for teaching chemistry to undergraduate students. In his spare time, York likes to play music with several other Stetson professors and spend time with his wife and three sons.

FSEM 100-27 (CRN 4968) Social, Spiritual Intelligence

Can u raed this? Do you bilvee ptassinaloey in the pweor of iedas to cnaghe ateitudts, lveis and umtillaety, the wrlod? If so, you may wish to ponder over why so many life-changing ideas are ignored or downright rejected in the world. We agree that humans are rational, intelligent beings, but why do we often act against our intelligence? To what degree do we live our lives in an economically, socially, emotionally and spiritually thoughtless manner? Is it possible that despite our intellectual dominance, we live like goslings imprinting upon the first role model (economically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually) that we come across, blindly following it to the death of our human intelligence? Students registering for this course will read and analyze books in economics, psychology, sociology and religious studies to contemplate these questions and more. However, as you prepare to think outside the box, be wary of jumping into the frying pan.

Your Professor

Ranjini Thaver was born and raised like a gosling in South Africa. She completed her B.A. degree in Economics and Psychology at the University of Durban-Westville, a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Economics at the University of Cape Town, and then completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Notre Dame. She has taught at Stetson since 1992 and co-created the AFS program and developed the first university-based microcredit program in the world. This program is located in poverty-stricken Spring Hill in DeLand, and in a small village in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. She has also teamed up with organizations such as the United Way, the FDIC and the IRS to offer business development workshops and personal finance classes to low-income families. She has taught courses in Economics, Africana Studies, Women and Gender Studies and the Honors Program.

FSEM 100-30 (CRN 4979) Healthy Religion & Sick Religion

This course will help you think intelligently about religion and its role in today's world. Religion serves both to heal, empower and to promote violence in the name of God. We will examine key topics including religion and self-transformation, religion and violence, and freedom of religion as a human right. The class is organized as a seminar, meaning that during most classes we sit around a table and discuss assigned readings and films. You are actively engaged in discussions, debates, presentations and questioning. You will enhance your ability to make professional oral presentations and to write with clarity and persuasiveness. You also will refine your ability to think critically so that you can discern whether an argument rests on solid evidence or not. Religion has long been a controversial topic in human life. Wars have been fought over religious disagreements. In this class, we examine religion's power to heal and transform lives and to divide, oppress and destroy. Finally, we examine why freedom of religion is considered a universal human right and why that right is often under siege in the contemporary world.

Your Professor

Phillip Lucas, Professor of Religious Studies, enjoys teaching, spirituality, baseball, India, guitars, travel to sacred sites around the world and gardening. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and has published four books and numerous articles in the fields of new and minority religions, religious freedom, comparative spirituality and American religious history. He is regularly interviewed in newspapers and television news and is the founding General Editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. This academic publication is the leading international journal in the field of new and minority religions. At Stetson University, he teaches courses on world religions, American religious history, comparative spirituality and new religions. He received the William Hugh McEniry Award for excellence in teaching from Stetson in 2002 and the Homer and Dolly Hand Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 1995 and 2007. In 2011, he became university director of the First-Year Seminar program at Stetson. He has lived and/or traveled in India, Nepal, Taiwan, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central America and Canada.

FSEM 100-37 (CRN 4993) Diversity in the 21st Century Classroom

In this course, we will examine the meaning of diversity and its relation to global education. Through literature and film, we will discuss the broad definition of diversity, focusing on the study of race, ethnicity, language, gender, social class, sexual orientation, religion, and emotional and physical disabilities. All students will use field placements in local schools or non-profit organizations to provide practical experiences that will illuminate our class's major concepts.

Your Professor

Bette Heins holds the Nina B. Hollis Chair of Educational Reform in the Department of Teacher Education. She directs the Hollis Institute for Educational Reform and teaches educational psychology, exceptional student education and classroom management. Her research interests include single-gender education, reading issues and classroom management. She loves teaching about diversity in the classroom and, in her words, "celebrates deviancy on a daily basis."

FSEM 100-48 (CRN 5242) The Anxiety of Identity

I think therefore I am... I think? Art often teases us with competing concepts of the self that shake the stability of identity, taunting us with an existential anxiety. This course's focus on identity will develop critical and analytical thinking while serving as an introduction to existentialism and its relationship to literature and film. We will use novels, short stories, plays, films and other narrative forms to explore the moral, social, political and artistic questions at the foundation of existentialism in its specific historical context; we will then try to think through how those questions and answers change in later, more modern contexts, indeed, how they matter for us today in our day-to-day lives.

Your Professor

Nicole Denner, Ph.D., attended Indiana University for her undergraduate and master's degree and received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Northwestern University. She studied horror films at IU and eighteenth-century Enlightenment literature for her doctorate (they aren't so different after all). She has taught at Stetson since 2001 in both the French and English departments. She is most interested in how and why texts so frequently turn inward and comment upon themselves.

First-Year Seminars are part of the university's mission to acclimate you to the academic standards and practices of this institution, particularly in reference to writing and critical thinking. This is a one unit, four-credit course.

Regardless of political orientation, class, nationality (or any perspective that informs a worldview), everyone is in agreement that something is wrong with the “system." As we examine a wide range of historical reform figures and their strategies to effect social and institutional change (i.e., Lycurgus, Cicero, Not Sure, Oge, and anonymous), you will work to emulate and/or adapt these models to achieve some degree of measurable civic improvement, either in a local or national context. Although this course is geared toward social action, it is also a writing course, which means that a premium is placed on refining your communicative fluency. To achieve this goal, a portfolio of your revised work is required (e.g. a comprehensive collection of all your course papers/drafts). The purpose of this course is to improve your ability to argue in writing, analyze persuasive methods, and provide historical/social contexts for your assignments that enable you to offer informed, convincing and critical arguments. The course will incorporate some aspects of a traditional lecture, but dialogue/interaction is expected since we will engage in many oral debates that will affect the content and revisions of your portfolio.

In this class, critical thinking is embedded within the rhetorical process (e.g. by examining how authors/historians use tropes, for example, you learn how arguments become convincing. By applying these strategies yourselves, you then internalize these creative and critical processes. These rhetorical strategies are evaluated in all of your papers as you model sources and use similar approaches.

Your Professor

While intermittently working on his graduate degrees (Clemson, M.A., English; University of South Carolina, Ph.D., Composition and Rhetoric), Michael Barnes taught, wrote and traveled in the Far East, calling Tokyo home for four years. Tenured at Stetson University in 2006, his current research interests focus on computer-facilitated empirical studies on academia via overlooked institutional artifacts (textbooks, internal communiques and so forth). Pedagogically a sophist, most of his courses push students to "argue both sides equally well."

What do we really see when watching a film? Film, like all visual culture, offers the possibility and pleasure to see things that we wouldn't normally be able to see. Cinema makes a spectacle of the everyday and turns the extraordinary and spectacular into commonplace. As spectators, we identify with different characters on-screen, share in their private and intimate acts, and witness their breaks with social and cultural mores. In this course, we will watch a series of contemporary films from various European countries and reflect on how each filmic story challenges our expectations as gendered spectator and questions our assumptions about different cultural behaviors and values.

Your Professor

Elisabeth Poeter, Ph.D., a native of Germany, came to the U.S. in 1975. She began her second educational career at Sacramento City College where she discovered her interest in foreign language and literature studies. Poeter spent one year at the University of Barcelona as part of her undergraduate studies in Spanish before completing her final degree in German Studies. She taught at UC Berkeley, Mills College and Bucknell University and joined the Stetson University faculty in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures in 1995. During her tenure at Stetson University, she spent one year at the Pädagogische Hochschule in Freiburg, Germany where she offered courses in German women's literature and mentored students in their studies to become elementary and secondary school teachers. At Stetson University, she has served as director of the gender studies program and serves as the director of the university's summer program in Freiburg, Germany.

FSEM 100-59 (CRN 5451) Comics and Graphic Novels

Stories told in words and pictures go by many different names all around the world, such as comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, manga, bandes dessinées, fumetti, tebeos, comix, imagetexts, sequential art and graphic narratives. Whatever they are called, comics and their influence are everywhere-on magazine racks, online, in literary journals, in museum galleries and on movie screens. They have been used to tell the simplest of jokes, create the wildest fantasy worlds and explore the depths of the most profound human experiences. This course will examine the art form that the French call "The 9th Art" in order to: Examine how words and pictures combine to make meanings; Survey a variety of texts from different times and places; Investigate where comics have come from, where they are now, and where they might go in the future. We will work together on reading visual/verbal texts closely, on writing analytically, and on finding ideas and presenting them in class. Students will have the opportunity to design a creative project in which they make their own comic or create a work of art about comics.

Your Professor

Joseph "Rusty" Witek, professor of humanities, has been teaching English and Humanities courses at Stetson University since 1989. He is known as one of the first academics in the United States to focus on comics as an art form, making Stetson one of the first universities to offer regularly scheduled courses on comics and graphic novels. He has published books and articles on such topics as comics criticism and theory, autobiography and history in comics, war comics, 9/11 in comics and the fact that Donald Duck can't fly. He is presently working on a book project that examines some of the worst comics ever published.

FSEM 100-61 (CRN 5457) Asian History in the Cinema

Have you ever watched a film which depicts a major historical event and asked yourself what really happened? Are you a fan of Jet Li or have you wondered what it was like to be a samurai? If you are curious about any of these issues and or some aspect of Asian culture or history, consider taking this course. This course will examine films about Asia's past, including both Asian and Western blockbusters. It will analyze how filmmakers have influenced both Western and Asian perceptions of Asia's past by using artistic license while portraying important events and personalities. Case studies for this fall 2014 semester will include a recent samurai blockbuster based on a popular manga, one of the highest-grossing South Korean films of all time, an award-winning Chinese film about an event which has been called "the forgotten Holocaust of World War II" and a film which set the record for most number of nominations in Hong Kong Film Awards history.

Your Professor

Leander Seah, Ph.D., teaches East Asian history, Southeast Asian history, and modern world history at Stetson. In terms of research, as an ethnic Chinese citizen of Singapore who lives in the United States, he is particularly interested in migration and diasporas, maritime China and maritime Southeast Asia, modern China, modern Japan, and transnational and world history. He has published journal articles, has presented his work at conferences in the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China, and is currently revising a book manuscript based on his doctoral dissertation, "Conceptualizing the Chinese World: Jinan University, Nanyang Migrants, and Trans-Regionalism, 1900-1941." His accolades include seventeen fellowships, research grants and awards from the Association for Asian Studies, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Center for Chinese Studies in Taiwan, the National Library Board of Singapore, the National University of Singapore, the University of Pennsylvania and Stetson University. Funding from many of these sources has enabled him to carry out research in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States. His current personal interests include traveling, supporting Liverpool Football Club (soccer) and the Philadelphia Phillies, enjoying Asian movies and Asian cuisine, reading historical fiction and collecting academic books.

FSEM 100-70 (CRN 5263) Finance in Film

The class will examine films with finance-related themes. The course will review various movies such as: comedy classic Trading Places, which deals extensively with the futures markets; Wall Street, which portray the rampant deal-making of the go-go Eighties; Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, which exposes the greed and unethical behavior behind one of the biggest accounting scandals in U.S. history; and Too Big to Fail, which documents the early days of the financial crisis and the government's response to a crumbling financial sector. In the process, we will cover finance and economics from an academic standpoint to better understand the concepts dealt with in the films.

Your Professor

Giovanni Fernandez, assistant professor of finance at Stetson University, was born in Miami to Cuban-American parents, both of whom had previously majored in finance. Fernandez' father, a former professor and financial advisor, inspired him to follow in his footsteps and pursue a career in the field. Giovanni enjoys tying in theory in finance with a real-world application from his experience as a financial advisor. Courses such as Personal Finance and Risk Management and Insurance allow him to prepare students for what is expected of them if they choose to pursue a career in financial advising. Giovanni received his Ph.D. in Finance from Florida International University, and his areas of research are investment performance and corporate bankruptcy prediction.

FSEM 100-73 (CRN 5380) How to Philosophize with a Harpoon: Moby-Dick, Nietzsche, Plato, and Polytheism

Moby Dick is the story of two kinds of philosophical heroes. One kind of hero seeks to pierce the wall of the mundane in order to catch a glimpse of the Real. “To me,” Captain Ahab says, “the white whale is that wall.” Ishmael represents a different kind of philosophical hero. And while Ahab is ultimately brought down by the whale, Ishmael not only survives the confrontation but is arguably transformed by it for the better. As humans, we find ourselves adrift at sea. How best, then, to confront its mysteries?

Your Professor

Joshua Rust, Associate Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department, specializes in the subfield of Social Ontology. Having taught courses on philosophical choice within video games and the philosophy and Harry Potter, he's especially interested in how the discipline of philosophy can illuminate questions raised within popular culture.

FSEM 100-79 (CRN 6116) Is Privacy Still a Right?

Privacy is an issue of profound importance in the contemporary world. Nearly every nation seeks to protect privacy. Yet, many philosophers and legal theorists have lamented the difficulty in reaching a satisfying conception of privacy. This course explores the moral and legal underpinnings of the concept of privacy by addressing fundamental questions such as: What is privacy? Why is privacy morally important? How has the right to privacy been articulated in constitutional law? In what ways is privacy under siege and what has been or will be the impact of government surveillance, data mining, social networking, thermal imaging of private residences, drone usage, virtual strip-searching and other perceived threats to personal privacy? Finally, the course examines the central privacy issues facing business institutions in 2018.

Your Professor

Jim Beasley has been a member of the Stetson faculty for 45 years. He was a professor of Religious Studies for 17 years, then served as Senior Vice President of the University, and now has been teaching Business Ethics in the Management Department for the past seven years. Jim’s primary scholarly interest is in ethical issues facing business and he is the co-author of several business cases being published by Sage Publishing. Dr. Beasley has Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Stetson, a Master of Arts degree from Andover-Newton Theological School, and a Ph. D. in history from Tufts University. He began the business ethics initiative in the School of Business Administration in 2011 and is founder and co-director of the annual Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition hosted by Stetson University.

FSEM 100-83 (CRN 6126) The Spirit of Travel

In this course, we'll look at the relationship between travel and spirit, in other words, the relationship between outer journeys and the inner ones. Pilgrimages have long been a part of religious and cultural traditions. Consider, for example, the centuries of trips to the Holy Land, Mecca, Bodh Gaya, Lourdes and Santiago de Compostela. Think about secular pilgrimages to places like the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Vietnam War Memorial or Graceland. Besides pilgrimages to one specific place, many travelers have more free-ranging objectives: for example, the Australian walkabout or even the post-college rite of backpacking around Europe.

Why is travel such a catalyst for spiritual growth? In this course, we'll focus on the ways in which travel--especially unpredictable travel outside one’s comfort zone--has an effect on the spirit. We’ll read books and essays—fiction and non-fiction—and watch movies and videos, alas jumping-off points for thoughtful insights, discussions, and writings about the spiritual transformations of travel.

Your Professor

Nancy Barber has been a lecturer at Stetson University since 1998. She majored in political science at Davidson College, then worked as a journalist before getting an M.A. in English at Stetson, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Florida. Barber specializes in creative nonfiction. Among her other writings, she published an essay on human cannonballs in Raritan Quarterly in 2006 and co-wrote Meals Worth Stopping for in Florida: Local Restaurants within 10 Miles of the Interstate, published by Globe Pequot Press in 2008. She is also a veteran of both sacred and secular pilgrimages.

FSEM 100-84 (CRN 6135) Living Our Values

For several years, Stetson University has explicitly promoted institutional commitments to global citizenship, personal growth and intellectual development. This course will critically examine specific aspects of this endeavor, paying special attention to issues of diversity, religion and spirituality, health and wellness, social justice and gender. We will explore each of these topics broadly and then examine how the University itself strives to "practice what it preaches." The course includes a focus on ways our developing awareness of values implies and informs change on an individual level, potentially leading to personal transformation. We will enjoy interactions with key values-oriented figures at Stetson as well as with carefully selected community leaders. This is a class designed to challenge your ideas with the goal of enhancing your own life experience.

Your Professor

Robert Sitler teaches Spanish and Latin American and Latino Studies courses at Stetson. He is especially passionate about the Native peoples of Latin America, the Maya in particular, a culture that has powerfully shaped his life. He is a radical environmentalist, a committed social activist, a lover of experiential learning, and a strong proponent of natural living and preventive approaches to illness. He loves free-diving in local springs, learning within Latin American Native communities, eating high-quality food, exploring his own "spirituality," and walking every day to work. Professor Sitler travels extensively in Latin America and his experiences there powerfully inform his teaching. He has lead groups of Stetson students to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Argentina and Peru.

FSEM 100-85 (CRN 6177) The Sociology of Power in National and International Contexts

Have you ever wondered how race/nationality/ethnicity can affect decision-making, not only in this country but around the globe? What about gender? Environmental considerations? How do these concepts shape culture and affect our physical environment? This course explores the different perspectives that analyze these relationships. In addition to discussion and in-class group work, this course uses activities such as developing guidelines for and conducting group observational research, individual field trips, and physically charting/mapping globalization to determine these social concepts' effects on social and physical environments. We then consider how an understanding of these concepts may contribute to the betterment of humankind.

Your Professor

Sven Smith holds a Ph.D. in Law and Society from the University of Florida and has an active research program regarding group organizations, critical race theory and globalization. He also holds a law degree from Florida State University and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Chicago and has recently completed a multi-method research project on the structural effects of group organization on judicial decision making. He teaches beginning as well as advanced sociology courses and seeks to make the classroom a vibrant learning center wherein students learn conceptually and through experiencing sociology. In his spare time, Dr.Smith enjoys playing music, attending the cultural events here at Stetson and reading.

FSEM 100-89 (CRN 6254) Our Sonic World

In 1877, Edison unleashed his phonograph on the world to much fanfare and went on to invent an industry based on the mass consumption of sound recordings. While the recording industry made sound into a thing to be purchased and collected, industrialization and mechanization continued to create an increasingly noisy environment. Not only has our relationship to and experience of sound changed drastically since Edison's time, but the pace of change is exponentially faster. Some iconic sounds like dot matrix printers and dial-up modems come into the world and leave it in a matter of years. Technology such as iPods and the internet have also enabled the collection and distribution of sound on scales that likely would have been unimaginable to Edison. This course will broadly examine both the production and consumption of sound in modern society. Topics will include the impact of changing technologies, methods and behaviors of sound collecting, the effect of sound on both individuals and groups, and the role of artists and scholars in engaging with our sonic world. This course includes a weekly success lab.

Your Professor

Nathan Wolek, Ph.D., is an audio artist and researcher whose work encompasses advanced signal processing techniques, multimedia performance and electronic music history. He enjoys collecting sounds during his various travels and using them as material for making art. In Fall 2012, he was named a Fulbright scholar and spent six months living and conducting research in Bergen, Norway. He teaches courses in Audio Recording and Production and Computer Music as part of the Digital Arts program and is also chair of the Creative Arts department.

FSEM 100-94 (CRN 6523) Global Flashpoints

Somalia...Palestine...Tibet...Cuba...Myanmar...human trafficking...the Arab Spring. Politics and greed mingle with economics, history and culture, seeping into twenty-first-century life to form deep-seated societal rifts that periodically erupt like dormant volcanos. In this course, students will discuss and debate some of the major global and regional conflicts and wrestle with the prospects of whether potential solutions should inspire hope or whether futility and skepticism are the only realistic outcomes.

Your Professor

William Andrews, Ph.D., is chairman of the Department of International Business at Stetson University and has over 17 years of experience on various company boards including roles as board chairman. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in strategic management and his Master of International Management (M.I.M.) from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He has taught or lectured in nine countries and led student trips to Spain, Cuba, and Panama. In addition, he earned his Certified Financial Manager designation with the Institute of Management Accountants and his Certified Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor certification with the Alliance of Mergers and Acquisition Advisors. He is an active member of the Florida Venture Forum -- the South's largest association of venture capitalists.

FSEM 100-97 (CRN 6578) Call of (civic) Duty: Video Games in Society

From Pong to Grand Theft Auto 5, this course will examine how video games have become a part of our society over the last 40 years. Video games have gone from primitive pixels on the screen to complex narrative devices. During that time they have been hailed as everything from the epitome of art to purveyors of violence and depravity. Portrayals of violence, sex, gender and race will be considered as they appear in video games. So too will the issue of moral panics and how society can sometimes overreact, even in absurd ways, to new media. This course will examine how society reacts to video games and other new media and, in turn, how video games have shaped society.

Your Professor

Chris Ferguson is a professor of psychology and has extensively studied the impact of video games on human behavior. He participated in discussions about video game effects hosted by Vice President Biden and the Centers for Disease Control in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. He has published numerous research articles, particularly on the topic of video game violence, but also on moral panics and how video games have sometimes been (mainly falsely) accused of causing serious societal ills. He enjoys the occasional game of Bioshock himself but mainly plays Lego games with his 13-year-old son and can only watch with befuddlement as his beautiful wife obsesses over Mahjong.

FSEM 100-102 (CRN 6591) Ghost Stories: East and West

A few buildings at Stetson University are said to be haunted, most notably Elizabeth Hall and the remnants of Hulley Tower. Central Florida abounds in ghost stories overall and such tales can be found all over the world. Students may be familiar with the misty apparitions that glide through walls or walk noisily upstairs in the middle of the night, but what about the life-sucking powers of Chinese fox spirits, the gory appetites of Tibetan flesh-eating demons, or the unrelenting stalking of Japanese vengeance ghosts? This course will introduce students to both classic examples of Western ghost stories and gothic tales as well as folklore and fictional accounts from India, Tibet, China and Japan. Western examples will include the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, M.R. James, and H.P. Lovecraft, while eastern stories will include Indian tales by Rudyard Kipling, Pu Songling's "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," and the Japanese "Tales of Moonlight and Rain" by Akinari Ueda. Students will read these stories and compare and contrast how ghosts and otherworldly spirits are portrayed between cultures. Assignments will also focus on how these stories reflect the societies in which they were written and include viewings of popular Chinese and Japanese horror films.

Your Professor

Christopher Bell received his B.A and M.A from Florida State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. His specialization is in Tibetan Buddhism, with a secondary concentration in Asian religions overall. He is particularly interested in Indian, Tibetan and Chinese demonologies. He has presented papers and published articles on Tibetan deity cults, oracles, and divination. Prior to joining Stetson in the fall of 2013, he taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, conducted fieldwork in Tibet and India, and lived in the south of Turkey. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

The class will examine films with social justice-related themes; specifically prejudice, discrimination and persecution related to Apartheid and the Holocaust. The course will review various movies such as The Power of One, Skin, Conspiracy, Sophie's Choice, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Perlasca. We will discuss the issues and concepts related to prejudice and discrimination as represented in these films and cover social justice from an academic standpoint to better understand the concepts dealt with in the films. We will go beyond prejudice and discrimination to discuss the personal and social implications of diversity for both majority and minority group members. We will consider how historical, political, economic and societal factors shape the way people think about and respond to diversity. Be prepared to be involved in thought-provoking class discussions.

Your Professor

Stuart Michelson is the Roland and Sarah George Professor of Finance. He teaches corporate finance and investments at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He was formerly Dean of the Stetson School of Business Administration (three years) and Director of the Executive M.B.A. program (four years). He is editor of the refereed academic journal Financial Services Review. He is a member of the editorial board of several scholarly journals, a board member of Financial Executives International and a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is a past president of the Academy of Financial Services, Financial Executives International (Central Florida) and the Academy of Business Education. Michelson has published over 50 refereed academic journal research articles. His current research areas include behavioral finance, tax efficiency in retirement accounts, the use of alpha to increase portfolio returns, the use of technology in education, mutual funds, portfolio risk budgeting and academic honesty. He received the School of Business Administration Professor of the Year award in 2009, Researcher of the Year for several years (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007), and Outstanding Service Award in 2008. He received the Stetson University Hand Award for Outstanding Research in 2008.

FSEM 100-106 (CRN 6607) Here We Are: Latinos and Latinidades in the U.S.

By the year 2050, the United States will have the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. This interdisciplinary course will explore a wide range of Latina/o issues in the US and its relationship to Latin America. As a class, we will explore the complex and historically specific processes of identity construction among Latinos by examining the intersection of race, gender, socio-economic background, ethnicity, politics, citizenship and 'national origins' (place and location). Throughout this course, we will raise questions such as: What are the political differences and implications of calling oneself a "Latino" or a "Hispanic"? What is "Spanglish" and what does it tell us about processes of "assimilation"? Which elements unite and separate Latinos in the U.S? Students will actively engage with course material including artistic, historical and literary representations of Latinos. We will also analyze popular culture, including television programs, political speeches, cartoons and news reports. Students will bolster their classroom discussions with experiential learning opportunities on campus through La Casita Cultural Latina. In addition, students will collaborate with local organizations that cater to the Latino community, including the Farmworkers Association and schools (among others) in order to deepen their analysis and learn how Latina/o studies as a scholarly discipline can help us better understand the complexities and diversity of the lived experiences of Latinos in the United States.

*No Spanish is required to fully participate in this course.*

Your Professor

Pamela Cappas-Toro, Ph.D., earned a B.A. in Physical Education from the University of Puerto Rico (2001) and an M.A. in Spanish & Latin American Cultures from the University of Texas in San Antonio (2006). She earned a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2013) where she taught numerous ESL, Latina/o Studies and Afro-Latin American workshops at the Education Justice Project at Danville Correctional Center, Illinois, a model college-in-prison program that demonstrates the positive impacts of higher education upon incarcerated people, their communities and families. At Stetson University, Cappas-Toro teaches the Spanish language, Latin American and Caribbean literatures and cultures, Latina/o studies, and Portuguese and Brazilian studies as well. Cappas-Toro's passion for social justice, community engagement and commitment to undergraduate education guide her efforts as the director of La Casita Cultural Latina at Stetson University. This program creates bridges between Stetson University's classrooms and our Latino/a communities. It prepares students to forge a meaningful partnership with Latino/a communities while promoting critical awareness about social justice issues and institutionalized disparities.

FSEM 100-107 (CRN 6630) SALSA: Multicultural Music of the Caribbean

Have you ever been to a Latino party? Have you ever listened to SALSA? Have you ever danced SALSA? What do you know about SALSA? This course explores the origin and history of one of the most versatile and popular musical genres of the 20th and 21st centuries. SALSA has transcended the borders of the Caribbean and the entire American continent to European and Asian latitudes because of its complex and irresistible rhythms, its attractive melodies, and its sensual and romantic lyrics. What is the musical power of SALSA? What is inside of this contagious rhythm that communes magically with the content of a text? How can performers improvise words and new phrases without departing from the main message? We will examine the different styles of SALSA in its various forms and its vocabulary and slangs to identify musical momentums, as well as to recognize their rhythmic structures and sounds. Will you dare to play it, dance it and sing it?

Your Professor

Jesus Alfonzo is associate professor of music in viola, chamber music and music history at Stetson University, where he also conducts the Viola Consort and leads the Viola Clinic. He is also a member of the Bach Festival Orchestra in Winter Park, Fla. and has been a member of the Rios Reyna String Quartet since 1987. He received a diploma and post-graduate Diploma from the Juilliard School of Music and master of music and doctorate in musical arts degrees from the Michigan State University.

Alfonzo was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He is a founding member of the EL SISTEMA, The Venezuelan National System of Youth Orchestras, in which he had the opportunity to develop both his teaching and playing skills. In 1980 and 1981, he was principal violist of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra. Later, he became principal violist of Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for sixteen years. In his vast orchestral experience he has worked with distinguished conductors and soloists including Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, Leonard Bernstein, Jose Antonio Abreu, Maxim Schostakovitch, Kristoff Penderecki, Zubin Mehta, Serge Baudo, Carlos Chavez, Jerzy Semkov, Eduardo Mata, Claudio Arrau, Joseph Silverstein, Mstislav Rostropovich, PinchasZukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, Monserrat Caballe, Jean PierreRampal, Yehudi Menuhin and Henry Szeryng. He has taught in Venezuela at the Conservatorio de Musica Simon Bolivar, the Institute of Musical Studies and the ColegioEmil Friedman.

Since 1998, he has given an annual series of viola and string pedagogy master classes at EL SISTEMA in almost every state of Venezuela. In 2008, he wrote the First Catalogue for Latin American Viola Music.

Today, more than ever before, globalization is part of our everyday local lives. We are linked to others on every continent:

socially through the media and telecommunications

culturally through movements of people

economically through trade

environmentally through sharing one planet

Politically through international relations and systems of regulation.

In a fast-changing and interdependent world, education can, and should, help people to meet the challenges they will confront now and in the future. Global Citizenship is essential in helping people rise to those challenges. In this course, we will define global citizenship. We will discuss what steps need to be taken in order to prepare to become a global citizen. We will reflect on what it means to be an individual, what it means to be a citizen in your local community, and what it means to be a citizen of the world.

Your Professor

Savannah-Jane Griffin has over six years of higher education experience focusing on community-engaged learning, campus-community partnership development, strength-based leadership and non-profit leadership. Savannah-Jane has facilitated community-engaged learning and community capacity building training for faculty, students, and community partners nationally through Campus Compact, the Bonner Foundation, and the IMPACT National Conference. She is the founding Director of Stetson University's national award-winning Center for Community Engagement and has led Stetson University's efforts in institutionalizing community engagement across the curriculum. She has a Master's in Business Administration with a focus in Management from Stetson University and is currently serving as a Bonner National Fellow. She is a current executive board member of the IMPACT National Conference and the Mainstreet DeLand Association. Savannah-Jane has a passion for empowering individuals to use their strengths to create positive change in our local and global communities.

FSEM 100-120 (CRN 6886) Disney's Musical Universe

Music permeates every aspect of the Disney experience. Disney cartoons, films, Broadway shows, TV channels, parades, theme-park attractions, resorts--each is saturated with music. What does all this music do? Among other things, music functions as a tool for marketing, education and, most of all, of identity construction—Disney's own, children's, and adults'. Are these identities real or imagined? And what are the consequences of using music in such ways? In this course, we will attempt to answer these and other questions by exploring the culture, phenomenon and implications of Disney's music. We will ponder the way music in Disney interacts with the moving image, visual art, architecture, cuisine and much else. The course is conceived in two broad units: the first considers the role of music in Disney films (covering, among others, Fantasia, Mary Poppins and Frozen); the second examines music as part of the Disney theme-park experience. We will take full advantage of our proximity to the Walt Disney World, designing creative projects around it. We will also have guests--people associated with music-making at Disney--visit our class.

Your Professor

Daniil Zavlunov earned a B.A. from Queens College - CUNY, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is a musicologist specializing in nineteenth-century opera, with a particular emphasis on the Russian and Italian traditions. His current work focuses on Mikhail Glinka, and he is in the process of writing a cultural history of opera in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855) at the center of which are Glinka's two operas. Daniil's other research interests include seventeenth and eighteenth-century music, Soviet music and intellectual thought about music, theories of musical form and music analysis. In addition to scholarly pursuits, he is also an avid harpsichordist.

FSEM 100-121 (CRN 6891) Exploring the World Through Photography

Our lives are infused with images, photography is omnipresent and ranges from advertising to selfies. The medium of photography generates public and private viewing directions and worlds and shapes the viewer's perception and imagination. This course focuses on different perspectives and approaches to how visual media constitutes notions of reality and construct. It investigates the visual language of photography, examines the ways of seeing, surveys photographic history/histories through images, texts and genres. We will work together on reading visual/verbal texts and films, on writing analytically, on practically approaching basic photography, on developing ideas and presenting them in class. An excursion to the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona Beach is part of the course. Our main focus will be on documentary photography, reportage, portraits, self-portraits, amateur photography, souvenir photos and forgotten private photographs. Students will have the opportunity to design creative projects in which they make and present their own photographic and written work.

Your Professor

Susanne Eules received a Ph.D. in German Studies, Art History and Musicology from the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg/Br. and an M.A. in Music and Art Education from the University of Education, Freiburg/Br., Germany. She teaches Italian, German, Art History and a Gender Studies Film course at Stetson University and interdisciplinary courses of Art History, Gender Studies and Creative Writing at the University of Education in Freiburg, Germany. She is the Program Director of Stetson's Freiburg Summer Program. Her professional career includes positions as director, curator and designer of various museums and art galleries in Germany and the US as well as freelance editor and photographic assistant for a German Publisher. She is the author of ůbern růckn des atlantiks/den rand des nachmittags (across the ridge of the atlantic/the edge of the afternoon), Hamburg 2012 and has published in literary venues in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the US. For her poetry, prose and translation, she has received various grants and literary awards in Germany and in the US. In 2013 her photography accompanied Oscar Bluemner's sketches in Oscar Bluemner’s Germany: Juxtaposing Jerichow at the Hand Art Center. Her drawings were part of group exhibitions at the Walden Kunstausstellungen, Prenzlauer Berg/ Berlin, Germany (2015) and POWER DEN EICHHØRNCHEN at the Kunstvereinin Heringsdorf, Usedom, Germany, 2013.

FSEM 100-127 (CRN 7081) Water, Peace and Prosperity

This class will study how societies allocate a critical natural resource, water. Analysis will range from the Incas in Peru to the Fertile Crescent in the Near East for historical context, then study modern water use in the Western US and Israel. You will learn the economics of water allocation and the environmental, political and social impacts of water policies.

Your Professor

Dr. de Bodisco is an environmental economist whose focus is water allocation issues in Florida and globally. His secondary interest is economic development, also with both local and global applications.

He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. from New College of the University of South Florida. After earning his doctorate, Dr. de Bodisco conducted applied research on agricultural and public water demand at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS) at the University of Florida. More recently, he conducted a range of environmental policy analyses (e.g. protection of Florida's source waters, and optimal policies to mitigate damage from sea level rise for Florida's coastal communities) as an economic consultant in Orlando.

FSEM 100-128 (CRN 7083) Psychology of Popular Fiction

It is impossible to avoid "pop psychology" in books, movies, and television shows today. Some of it is based in research, and some of it is pseudoscience. How do we know what's true about the mind and human behavior? Moreover, what it is about heroes or villains that make them appealing to an audience? Students will analyze and integrate ideas about the intersection of the reality of Psychology and how it is represented in the media, including Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Hannibal. Students will choose their own topics (subject to approval) in order to critique the flaws and identify the correct representations of psychology in a fictional work. Students will also give two oral presentations on the psychological principles in a work of fiction.

Your Professor

Laura Crysel is a social psychologist whose research focuses on the dark side of human nature. Dr. Crysel received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2014. She is particularly excited to teach this course because it will encourage individuals to understand the value of scientific truth and artistic experience. In her spare time, Laura attends comic conventions and goes to theme parks. Her hobbies include swimming, photography and rock climbing.

FSEM 100-129 (CRN 7132) Inked: Tattoos in Society

From the geometric line-work found on the 5,000-year-old mummy of Ötzi the Iceman to the full-color, photo-realistic portrait of their dog that someone, somewhere is getting tattooed right now, tattoos have been a part of societies across the globe for millennia. In this seminar, we will explore the art of tattooing, examining different styles and methods, as well as delve into tattoos as self-expression and their place in various cultures and subcultures. Through frequent writing assignments, lively classroom discussions, oral presentations, and debates we will examine the questions of why do people get tattoos, what do they mean, how are they received by others, and much more.

Your Professor

Colin MacFarlane comes from a social science background with a focus on quantitative analysis and postmodern historiography. He is heavily tattooed, receiving his first piece at the age of 18 and continuing to build his collection every year since. His ink is diverse in content but has predominant stylistic influences from Japanese Traditional and Art Nouveau. He is a strong proponent of identity exploration and expression and has facilitated dialogues and presented workshops around identity development and intercultural competence with college students, business leaders, and higher education professionals. Joining Hatter Nation in the fall of 2012, he serves as the Director of Assessment and Operational Effectiveness where he leads the division of Campus Life and Student Success in answering the questions of what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how could we be doing it better. He received his Master of Education in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics and Assessment from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has been working in higher education since 2009.

FSEM 100-130 (CRN 7139) Still Free: The Road to Serenity

"I don't care, I'm still free, / You can't take the sky from me."

Firefly and the follow-up feature film Serenity have become cult classics, and their popularity is still growing ten years after the show aired. Part of the Joss Whedon universe, Firefly & Serenity present us with a thought-provoking and genre-bending space western and allow us to discuss a wide range of themes found in the stories such as social class, culture, religion, ethics, effects of war and colonialism, among others. Assignments will respond to ideas presented in the series and relevant critical essays. Be prepared to have thoughtful conversations and substantive analysis, critical thought and reflection.

Your Professor

Michele Randall holds degrees in Technical Writing (BA), Creative Writing (MA), and Poetry (MFA), and has taught College Writing, Composition, Creative Writing, Interdisciplinary Studies and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction. Her book, Museum of Everyday Life (Kelsay Books) was published in 2015, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming from Painted Bride Quarterly, The Potomac Review, Newport Review (First Prize Flash Fiction) and elsewhere. Her current work focuses on the new realities of mental health patients and was a finalist for the Peter Meinke Poetry Prize. She appreciates a good sense of humor and has been known to geek out over Dr. Who, Torchwood, Star Trek, and Star Wars.

FSEM 100-131 (CRN 7142) Every Hero Has a Story

From Luke Skywalker to Katniss Everdeen, all heroes are pulled from a place of comfort and thrust into an adventure that will change their lives forever! The Hero’s Journey is a pillar of narrative development in mythology, literature and film. During this course, students will learn about the various stages of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth and how each stage is crucial not only in the telling of the story but the growth and development of the hero. Students will explore what it means to be a “hero” through examples from history, literature, film, and television. Finally, students will have a chance to tell the story of their own “hero’s journey.” In the words of Joseph Campbell, “you are the hero of your own story!”

Your Professor

Aaron Distler serves as the Associate Director of Academic Success and Accessibility at Stetson University. He earned his B.A. in psychology with a minor in sociology and M.A. in mental health counseling from the University of Central Florida before joining Stetson in 2013. He believes in the power of storytelling as a catalyst for personal growth. The more we learn about our strengths through our various life experiences, the better prepared we are for the next challenge thrown our way. In his spare time, he enjoys running, reading novels and comics, watching television and movies, and spending time outdoors. He is excited to dive into some very popular tellings of the Hero’s Journey and work with students to tell their stories!

FSEM 100-135 (CRN 7380) Health and Human Rights

This seminar will introduce students to human rights and their impact on health. Students will learn how the violation of human rights negatively impacts the health of individuals and communities. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the historical, political, cultural, and religious roots for human rights abuses and their interaction with mortality and morbidity. The course is interdisciplinary as students will learn about various topics such as genocide, war and conflict, terrorism, sexual discrimination and violence, racism, and sexism. Students will analyze how these experiences ultimately affect victims' physical, mental and social well-being. This seminar prepares students for intellectual engagement in discussing challenging topics by reviewing current human rights issues and their health implications (e.g. Syria's civil war).

Your Professor

Asal Mohamadi Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H. is an assistant professor of integrative health science at Stetson University. She was awarded her Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from Florida State University and received her M.P.H. in epidemiology from Georgia Southern University. She has a bachelor's degree in economics and a second master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Tehran. She previously held visiting professorships at Florida State University and Georgia Southern University, where she taught an array of courses including sustainable development, statistics, international studies and global health. Her research focus encompasses a dynamic, interdisciplinary spectrum pertaining to health and the built environment. Some current research interests include social epidemiology; epidemiology of chronic diseases; and environmental and ecological impacts on health disparities. Exploration of these various but interrelated themes has afforded her the opportunity to employ a multi-layered perspective in understanding the connection between health, the built environment and social justice.

FSEM 100-138 (CRN 7405) Interfaith Encounters: Beyond Belief

The interfaith movement in the United States seeks to actively understand one another across lines of difference while discovering common understandings. This course will guide first-year students in the development of their writing skills through the exploration of this movement. Rather than solely studying the tenants of religious and spiritual traditions, this course seeks to explore: what is the contribution of religious and spiritual communities to the society in which we live?

In this course, students will gain religious literacy, skills, and appreciative knowledge to assist in addressing the urgent questions of our time: How do we dialogue with those belonging to religious and non-religious traditions other than our own? How can we work together with people of various faith backgrounds and worldviews to achieve the common good?

Students will write a series of short response papers and longer essays in this writing-intensive class. Class discussion of assigned readings will be a large part of our in-class work, accompanied by occasional lectures, presentations, peer-review of written work, and other activities.

Your Professor

Lindsey Carelli received her B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Oklahoma, and her M.T.S. (Master of Theological Studies) from Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. Since 2014, she has served as the Assistant Director of Interfaith Initiatives at Stetson University. She enjoys teaching this course because students have the opportunity to examine what is often referred to as the “invisible identity:” one’s religious, non-religious, or spiritual identification. Additionally, on a global scale, understanding religion matters. Whether you aspire to become a CEO, a journalist, or a doctor, learning to navigate the religious complexity of our global society is a necessary skill.

FSEM 100-139 (CRN 7422) Democratic Deliberation

This course we will consider the challenge of democratic deliberation and decision-making within societies and institutions by examining contemporary democratic practices. Rather than seeing democracy merely as a governmental system characterized by voting and representation, this class will look at a larger series of practices, such as speech, film and protest, that occur in a wide variety of arenas, such as workplace and education. Through course readings, assignments and class discussions we will (1) attempt to define the term democracy; (2) explore democracy's possibilities and limitations; and (3) study democratic practices and techniques for participation.

Your Professor

Antonio Golan was born and raised in New York City, and received his B.A. in Cinema Studies and M.A. in Cinema & Media Studies from the College of Staten Island (CUNY). He is currently finishing his disseration on the democratization of the Spanish State, which focuses on the role of rhetoric and public memory. He is is particularly interested in how, despite being universally celebrated in Western societies, democracy is often contained by social forces, conventions and laws. At the same time, he is also interested in how citizens attempt, and sometimes succeed, in influencing institutions and society (despite existing barriers to civic paricipation).

FSEM 100-149 (CRN#7667) The Past is Present

Why do war memorials and historical films spark controversy years after the events they depict? It’s because they are part of historical memory—how people shape a collective identity based on ideas about the past. This kind of memory exists in many places—monuments in public parks, films, museums, public art, tourism, and public celebrations like parades and festivals. People learn about history from these kinds of places as much (or more) as they learn from history classes and books. To understand the power of historical memory, we have to think about what these collective memories tell us about the American past. Whose stories are told and whose are not? Whose faces and what events do we learn about in public space? What kinds of films tell America’s stories? This course examines how Americans have shaped historical memory at various points in time from the early nineteenth century to the present. We will get out into our local community and use DeLand itself to examine the workings of historical memory in our own times. Ultimately, we will consider how Americans, collectively and in conflict, produce ideas about the past.

Your Professor

Dr. Emily Mieras teaches a range of courses in the History Department as well as in the American Studies Program and the Gender Studies Program. She is currently working on a research project about historical memory and community identity in the American South, work that helped inspire this course. Originally from Lexington, Massachusetts, Dr. Mieras grew up attending battle re-enactments on the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord—an experience that also shaped her interest in the ways history influences tourism, landscape, and sense of place. Dr. Mieras attended Harvard University (A. B in History and Government) and the College of William and Mary (M. A. and Ph.D., American Studies). Outside the classroom and the archive, Dr. Mieras enjoys exploring new places and seeing firsthand how “the past is present.”

FSEM 100-150 (CRN 7669) Creating a Sustainable Society

Classroom discussion will center around the challenges facing the next generation on issues concerning the future of the planet’s resources. Students will analyze key areas that broadly impact society and the environment, such as food production and distribution, water usage and waste disposal and recycling, as well as taking part in a community project promoting sustainability. In addition, emerging professional opportunities will be discussed (with invited guest speakers), which are being created as society addresses these environmental challenges.

Your Professor

Michelle DeMoss is a full professor at Stetson University and holds the endowed McNamara chair in marketing. She majored in psychology at University of Florida and then went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. at University of Florida as well. DeMoss specializes in marketing sustainability and ethics and has published a number of scholarly articles in these areas. Her research method of choice is the case study method, which takes an in-depth examination of a real-life situation involving an organization and its related contextual conditions. DeMoss has worked with organizations such as Publix Supermarkets, the Department of Environmental Protection and the St. Johns River Water Management District on case studies focused on sustainable business practices.

Mindfulness, meditation, “finding your Zen,” and related concepts appear frequently in contexts ranging from religion to pop culture, psychology and management. Even Google offers employees a popular course to help them “Search Inside Yourself,” and professional football teams are teaching players to meditate.

This course will provide a comprehensive overview of contemplative practices as encountered in diverse spiritual and religious contexts along with their contemporary secular applications and related research. For example, we will encounter traditional religious practices such as Zen meditation that have been adapted for secular purposes like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. We will explore contemplative methods like Naikan, a Japanese practice using gratitude as a method of introspection; mindful movement exercises like walking meditation and qigong; and “deep reading” practices like Lectio Divina.

Some of these, such as contemplative reading and writing, lend themselves in unique ways to helping improve creativity and communication skills. We will also see how we might use these practices to develop skills that reduce stress and improve performance during college and beyond.

Your Professor

Sensei Morris Sullivan is a chaplain in Stetson University’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, leads Buddhist congregations in DeLand and Mims, performs interfaith religious services at area churches and teaches tai chi. He received an MBA from Rollins College, the title Sensei (teacher) from the Bright Dawn Center for Oneness Buddhism, and studied Japanese psychology at the ToDo Institute. These days, he mainly writes about Buddhism and contemplative practices. However, he spent 15 years writing and editing professionally, including as a features writer for the Daytona Beach News-Journal and other publications. He lives in DeLand with his wife, two dogs and a cat, and he has a passion for helping others discover the wisdom that lies within themselves and communicating that wisdom to others.

FSEM 100-152 (CRN 7673) Lobbying a Tool for Change

Effective lobbying is an art form, and lobbying is about relationships. Although lobbying is often derided and sensationalized by media coverage, it remains the single most effective method for advancing policy and causes. In this course, students will understand the political structures and processes of government, as well as the strategies and techniques used by lobbyists to advance their agenda. Students will begin their mastery through writing, reading, guest lectures and class discussion. Students will leave with an improved ability to analyze critically, integrate fully and coherently express knowledge and ideas as well as possess a comprehensive command of the tenets of lobbying: substance, culture and process.

Your Professor

Joshua Truitt serves as a major gifts officer and the director of government relations. He is active in several charitable and civic organizations and serves as a board member for the Adult Literacy League. Joshua received both his B.S. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Education from UCF and M.B.A. from Rollins College.

FSEM 100-153 (CRN 7674) Counterculturals and Artistic Revolutions for the Twentieth Century

Countercultural movements throughout the twentieth century, holding values contrary to those of mainstream society, have sought to challenge the status quo with radical works of music, art, and literature. Were they effective? Does art have the power to change the way people think? Have these works of music, art and literature contributed to the creation of the culture in which we live, and, if so, how? In this course, students will be introduced to some of the more radical and controversial works of music, poetry, theatre, and visual art from the 1880s to today as well as the cultures that produced them: from the composers, writers and painters of the fin de siècle to those of the New York art scene in the 1960s; from the writers of the Beat Generation, to the musicians and artists of the San Francisco psychedelic movement, to the formation of hip-hop in the late 1970s. Through class discussions and writing assignments, students will be asked to reflect upon what art is and what its role is in society. They will be asked to reflect upon the music and art of their own generation, its culture and its countercultures and identify the values that are propagated by it.

Your Professor

Lonnie Hevia holds a D.M.A. in composition from The Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Christopher Theofanidis, Nicholas Maw and Michael Hersch. His bachelor's and master's degrees in composition were earned from The Florida State University School of Music, where he studied with John Boda and Ladislav Kubik. Dr. Hevia has presented music in master classes conducted by John Corigliano, Christopher Rouse and Justin Dello Joio, and he has taken individual lessons from Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Libby Larsen and Chen Yi. His music has been performed throughout the United States by world-class musicians. It has been presented at conferences of the College Music Society, Society of Composers, Inc. and The Midwest Graduate Music Consortium.

The confluence of a variety of influences, Dr. Hevia's music often combines the energy of rock, the melodic lyricism of pop, the harmonic and rhythmic complexities of jazz, the timbres of spectral music and the counterpoint and dramatic form of concert music, all into a unified style that is uniquely his own. While at Peabody, Dr. Hevia earned a second master's degree in music theory pedagogy, and, before his appointment at Stetson, he held teaching positions at Peabody, Towson University and Johns Hopkins University. He has taught music theory, aural skills, keyboard skills, counterpoint, form and analysis, twentieth-century theory, composition, arranging and the history of popular music.

FSEM 100-xxx (CRN xxxx) Cybersecurity and You

This course exposes students to the risks of our always-connected, always-vulnerable hypersocial world. Students will learn about recent and common malware exploits, state-sponsored hacking, encryption, password cracking, phishing, the dark web, cryptocurrencies, targeted advertising, fake news, surveillance and artificial intelligence. But all is not lost. This course will also cover best-practices like good passwords, secure messaging, enhancing privacy, and limiting one's digital presence. In a final technical report and presentation, each student will research a contemporary cybersecurity threat, identify the potential risk to individuals and organizations and propose a plan to limit this risk.

Your Professor

Joshua Eckroth joined the Math and Computer Science Department at Stetson University in fall 2014. He earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in the areas of artificial intelligence and cognitive science, focusing on abductive reasoning and metareasoning.

FSEM 100-xxx (CRN xxxx) Mathematics of Sustainable Food

An increasing global population coupled with decreasing natural resources calls for smart, innovative, scalable and nimble solutions to handle some of the world’s most important problems related to the sustainability of food. In this course, we will explore issues like food waste, global hunger, food production and distribution and even the flavor of food through the lens of mathematics and statistics.

Your Professor

Hari Pulapaka, a native of Mumbai, India, came to the U.S. for graduate studies in 1987. He has been at Stetson University since the fall of 2000. Pulapaka is interested in all areas of mathematics and is always looking for new sources of problems for undergraduate research. Hari is also a classically trained chef and is interested in all areas of gastronomy. He is a multi-year James Beard nominated chef and a nationally recognized leader in practicing and promoting sustainable practices in the food industry. When not teaching or working on mathematics and related areas, he is at Cress, a restaurant in downtown DeLand that he owns with his wife, working as an active professional chef.

HON 101-01 (CRN 5706) Enduring Questions (Honors Only)

"We should live sustainably!" seems a recent exhortation, but perhaps it is no more than a return to the literary tradition of Utopias. Are we not telling stories about an intentional community based on idealistic visions? How do such comparisons between sustainability and Utopias fail to account for contemporary realities? What are the dystopic aspects to sustainability? The primary work of this course will be to historically situate the sustainability movement within a historicity of Utopian and dystopian thought. What is the relationship between contemporary calls for a sustainable living and the rich tradition of Utopian thought? In what ways can the Brundtland Report, which popularized the notion of sustainability, be seen as continuous with a corpus as heterogeneous as Plato's Republic, Augustine's The City of God, Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party?

Your Professor

John Tichenor is the chair of the Department of Management in the School of Business Administration. He teaches a wide variety of courses at Stetson, including business ethics, business thesis, a first-year seminar on innovation and creativity, and a junior seminar on corporate social responsibility. Before coming to Stetson in 1996, John worked in applied social research settings for the East Carolina University School of Medicine, the State of Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, the Vanderbilt University Institute for Public Policy Studies and the Florida Office of Comprehensive Health Planning. John has worn many Stetson hats over seventeen years, teaching statistics courses, serving as director of institutional research and university registrar. John is also an avid drummer in local jazz and rock bands (you can currently hear him in the DaVinci Jazz Experiment). His academic background includes a B.A. and an M.A. from Baylor University and a Ph.D. in sociology from Florida State University. John and his family enjoy traveling and often participate in Stetson's study abroad program in Innsbruck, Austria.

HON 101-02 (CRN 5707) Enduring Questions (Honors Only)

"We should live sustainably!" seems a recent exhortation, but perhaps it is no more than a return to the literary tradition of Utopias. Are we not telling stories about an intentional community based on idealistic visions? How do such comparisons between sustainability and Utopias fail to account for contemporary realities? What are the dystopic aspects to sustainability? The primary work of this course will be to historically situate the sustainability movement within a historicity of Utopian and dystopian thought. What is the relationship between contemporary calls for a sustainable living and the rich tradition of Utopian thought? In what ways can the Brundtland Report, which popularized the notion of sustainability, be seen as continuous with a corpus as heterogeneous as Plato's Republic, Augustine's The City of God, Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party?

Your Professor

Jason Evans is an interdisciplinary systems and landscape ecologist broadly interested in the emergent geo-spatial interfaces between human and natural systems. Most of his current research projects involve collaborations with several regional Sea Grant programs to assist local governments along the southeastern U.S. coast with sea level rise adaptation. Communities Evans is working with on such work include Monroe County and the Village of Islamorada, Florida; St. Marys and Tybee Island, Georgia; and Hyde County, North Carolina. Another body of his recent research has focused on land cover change, wildlife habitat and life cycle assessments for various bioenergy systems (including ethanol, biogas, and wood pellets) across the U.S. Evans also has extensive experience and very strong ongoing interest in the ecology, management and restoration of Florida springs ecosystems.

HON 101-03 (CRN 5708) Enduring Questions (Honors Only)

"We should live sustainably!" seems a recent exhortation, but perhaps it is no more than a return to the literary tradition of Utopias. Are we not telling stories about an intentional community based on idealistic visions? How do such comparisons between sustainability and Utopias fail to account for contemporary realities? What are the dystopic aspects to sustainability? The primary work of this course will be to historically situate the sustainability movement within a historicity of Utopian and dystopian thought. What is the relationship between contemporary calls for a sustainable living and the rich tradition of Utopian thought? In what ways can the Brundtland Report, which popularized the notion of sustainability, be seen as continuous with a corpus as heterogeneous as Plato's Republic, Augustine's The City of God, Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party?

Your Professor

Melinda C. Hall is an assistant professor of philosophy at Stetson University. She specializes in bioethics and continental philosophy, and her research interests include the intersection of contemporary bioethics and disability studies, the ethics of human enhancement and the social and cultural construction of disability. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University; her dissertation developed a critique of the notion that enhancement - especially the genetic selection of one's offspring - is a moral obligation. Her work is published in the International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics and the Disability Studies Quarterly.

MUED 265-1(CRN# 7402) Principles and Methods of Instruction for Diverse Learners - Music

Introduction to Music Education: Principles and Methods of Diverse Learners is an introductory course that provides a foundation for upper-division coursework in education. Emphasis will include research-based literature on teacher effectiveness and student learning with classroom observations/participation. This course is designed to help music majors explore the historical, philosophical and social foundations of music education while examining issues that focus on music curricula, goals and objectives of music programs and the many aspects involved in teaching music. Teacher effectiveness and student learning are demonstrated through classroom observations and instruction.

Your Professor

John A. Lychner is Director of Music Education in the School of Music at Stetson University. He teaches classes in music education, supervises intern teachers, serves as an academic advisor as well as the advisor for the collegiate NAfME chapter, and is active as a clinician and conductor. Prior to coming to Stetson, Dr. Lychner was Professor of Music in the School of Music at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

Lychner earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) and was then awarded a Rotary International Foundation Scholarship to continue studies in music and education at the University of Nottingham in Nottingham, England. He taught band, choir and general music in the Lindbergh School District in St. Louis, Missouri. He received a Master of Arts from Northeast Missouri State University where he was the principal conductor for the University Concert Band and then went on to complete a Ph.D. at Florida State University in Music Education. While in Tallahassee, Lychner was also assistant director of Bands at Rickards High School and woodwind coach and rehearsal assistant with the Tallahassee Symphony Youth Orchestra. During his career, he has also worked as a summer music camp instructor, church organist and church choir director.

Lychner has served in a variety of leadership roles with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), including national Chair for two Special Research Interest Groups and President for the Michigan Music Educators Association, the Michigan affiliate of NAfME. He was also a member of the Production Staff for the International Association for Jazz Education annual convention.

His research in the areas of aesthetic response to music and teacher education has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, the International Journal of Music Education: Research, and the Journal of Band Research, among others. He has also been published in several volumes of the series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band and has written articles for the Music Educators Journal, The Michigan Music Educator and The Instrumentalist.

Introduction to Music Education: Principles and Methods of Diverse Learners is an introductory course that provides a foundation for upper-division coursework in education. Emphasis will include research-based literature on teacher effectiveness and student learning with classroom observations/participation. This course is designed to help music majors explore the historical, philosophical and social foundations of music education while examining issues that focus on music curricula, goals and objectives of music programs and the many aspects involved in teaching music. Teacher effectiveness and student learning are demonstrated through classroom observations and instruction.

Your Professor

Gregory W. LeFils Jr., Ph.D., is a visiting assistant professor of choral music education at Stetson University. His duties include teaching music education classes and supervising student teachers. LeFils holds a Ph.D. in music education from Florida State University where his teaching included assisting with music education, conducting and graduate choral literature classes. As a conductor, he was the assistant conductor of various choral ensembles including the Women's Glee Club, Choral Union, Chamber Choir and the Tallahassee Community Chorus.

LeFils' professional experience includes directing two secondary choral music programs in Florida, conducting The Orlando Chorale and The Orlando Chamber Choir, and singing/soloing with the Festival Singers of Florida. His research interests include teacher effectiveness, music teacher curriculum and training, incorporating elements of teamwork into rehearsals, choral improvisation and choral history. LeFils has presented research and educational clinics throughout the region including the annual conferences of Music Education Associations in Alabama and Florida and other workshops for music educators in central Florida. His dissertation is entitled The History of the Stetson University Concert Choir. In addition to his roles as researcher and educator, LeFils maintains an active agenda as a speaker, clinician and adjudicator across the region.